http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Colombia , Medellin en-us Tue, 21 May 2013 07:03:19 +0000 Tue, 21 May 2013 07:03:19 +0000 April 2nd I took a trip to Medellin Antioquia the second largest city of Colombia 3.5 million people. Just 20 years ago this city was the largest drug trafficking region in the world. Home to the infamous Pablo Escobar cartels practically ruled the city. However today Medellin is one of the most modern developed cities in Colombia. It is home to some of the largest businesses in Colombia http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-781250.html Hola from a hammock in a very warm locale. I am kind of glad I was forced out of my last hostel due to lack of room. Here noone speaks English and it forces me to think a bit. And I39m away from glitzy Avenida 70 the odd discoteque are here. So my days I39ve been passing by sitting at a corner bar watching old farts play cards and talking smack to each other It39s awesomeand even as a g http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-758871.html Afternoon all. I will keep this blog short word wise and long picture wise...as they kind of speak for themselves.So today given I was booted from my private room and into a dorm given Madonna is in town I decided to get up super early and hit the bricks.Wandered down to metro station for 2 stops to cable car system. It was phenominal. Suspended in the air it rises hundreds of feet above the ci http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-758186.html Howdy all from MedellinI did next to nothing today after arriving late last night due to crazy traffic on the highway here. 11 hours on a bus makes you appreciate you booty a bit more So today is adjustment day and laundry by hand and beers on the balcony. Don39t need to remind anyone I love people watching And this is a perfect spot for said habit.Tomorrow will get up early and hit the over http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-758041.html I slept most of the way on the plane from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale due to the lack of sleep that I had got in the Airport.... that goddamn floor polishing lady The flight to Medellin was really nice flying out over the Florida coast and across the Carribean then crossing over Colombia on the Northern coast. The final part was the most spectacular however flying amongst the mountains of Colo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/Guatape/blog-752508.html Eftir hitan Cartagena var stefnan sett midbaug og fyrsta stopp var hin alrmdi heimabr hans Pablo Escobar Medellin. Ferdalagid tk adeins litla 14 tma rtu en ndum th ad sofa eitthvad af ferdinni thar sem thetta var ntur rta. Vid byrjudum a thvi ad finna okkur hostel og fundum eitt ltid ks hostel og eftir thad fengum vid okkur ad borda og svo f gdann ntursvefn. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-750354.html we39ve had such a wonderful experience here in medellin and i39m so glad to finally post about it all...so we arrived here in medellin on friday evening after that long bus ride from bucaramanga we broke down and bought plane tickets from medellin to bogota because we are SICK of buses and have stayed in 2 different hostels here. we stay one more night and leave for bogota tomorrow. the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-745629.html Cartagena ColombiaOk I39ve given up on the idea of catching up with my blog since we were in Honduras so I39m skipping ahead to Colombia... Cartagena a beautiful city on Colombia39s Caribbean coast. Possibly the most picturesque city I39ve ever been to.After a somewhat blubbery farewell with John in Panama city I arrived here on a Saturday afternoon. Stayed in Hostel Mamallena. Wande http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/Guatape/blog-744668.html http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/Guatape/blog-740324.html Knapp zwei Wochen hat es gedauert Ich habe das Paradies gefunden. Es liegt ca. 2 Stunden stlich von Medellin eine kurvige Strae qult sich ber verschiedene Psse bis sich schlielich die letzte Abfahrt Richtung Guatap auftut Ein mrchenhaftes Tal darin ein riesiger klarer See und ein fast kitschig pittoreskes Dorf. Das Hostel liegt 10 Minuten hinter dem Ort Idylle Hilfsausdruck. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/Guatape/blog-740321.html Der kolumbianische RyanairAbleger VivaColombia bringt mich von der Karibikflughafenbruchbude Cartagenas in irgendeine Satellitenstadt 30 km vor Medellin. Ich habe einen nationalen Flug daher lande ich natrlich auf dem internationalen Flughafen Der nationale Flughafen von Medellin befindet sich in perfekter Lage im Stadtzentrum. Gut dass es zu spt fr den Bus ist so kutschiert ein Taxi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-739184.html After getting back from our Panamanian Adventure Haley took a few days to head to Tayronna National Park located a few hours away while I stayed in Cartagena to take care of business ahem getting a blood test and getting that Colombian ID sorted. Luckily it all went swimmingly the same guy was working as the last time I was there and remembered me. He switched my A blood type in the syst http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-737433.html Why do we love Colombia Because here cab drivers honk at the police because people are lovely and because it might be cheaper to fly than to take a horrible 20hour bus rideSo when we finally decided to leave to Medellin we booked a 25person flight the night before our departure. Seems like a pretty good deal considering the bus would have cost us at least 50 It turned out we weren39t t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-736779.html In Medellin I had my first experience of speedsculpting. You just take your kit off pose for about ten minutes and then a large group of students from the art department of the local university attack a block of stone with various hand and power tools. This is then sprayed with bronze paint to give the appearance of a cast statue. Those that know me intimately will agree that the resemblence is http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-736745.html All...Having issues with pictures I will upload them as soon as I can. Today was a whirlwind day. We started very early visiting farms all day and then flying back to Bogota this evening.We had a great visit with our primary Aster source. They assured us that fall production is coming along great. We will have photos and offering of tinted solidago for Fall very very soon. We enjoyed lunch with t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-736231.html Wow.....Busy long day.Let me start by thanking Liliana for a wonderful breakfastWe visited our major Pom sources today. Thay all report excellent production. Everything we saw was beautiful. On top of that Post Harvest and packing conditions were as usual Grade A.We then had a meeting with a group of our vendors. It was a great way to get together and hear what they think of our relationships. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-735965.html Last weekend was the last long weekend for a while and since we hadn39t been travelling for a while 5 of us decided to go to Medellin. This is one of the three big cities in Colombia and is a popular tourist destination. Ask any Colombian what they think of the place and despite regional loyalties almost all of them will tell you two things 1 it is the city of La Primevera Eterna eternal http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-735942.html Joy ContagionThe Medelln River runs through the center of the city. Near one of the primary bridges that crosses it there is a cluster of parks and pathways that run alongside. Every year for most of the month of December and well into January a spectacular array of Christmas lights known as Los Alumbrados is on display along the river. Hundreds of luminous plantlike fixtures rise up http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-719557.html Cable cars lead you over the barrio neighborhood. From the cars you can see Medellin in its entirety a city of 4 million. The city has characteristic redshingled roof tops the color of blood ironically. Medellin was once the murder capital of the world. Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was killed here. As we glided over the neighborhood I couldnt help but wonder of the violence that once http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-719257.html Medellin ColombiaWalking through the market on Christmas Eve is nuts. Vendors line the streets by the thousands. Dodge pedestrians weave in and out of traffic avoid kids running at your feet 10 minutes later and congratulations Youve made it 100 meters. Overwhelming. There certainly is some beauty behind the chaos. There are tons and tons of tropical fruit at your fingertips music and dan http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-719256.html